Panther Softball Advances In LEC Tournament

PLYMOUTH, N.H. — Sophomore Kim Jeffs (Stoughton, Mass.) tossed a four-hit shutout Tuesday afternoon at D&M Park, lifting third-seeded Plymouth State College past sixth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University, 2-0, in a quarterfinal game of the Little East Conference Softball Tournament.

With the victory, the Panthers improve to 24-6 overall and advance to the LEC double-elimination tournament this weekend at top-seeded Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Conn. PSC will take on second-seeded Rhode Island College Friday at 2 p.m. in Game Two, following the opening game of the tournament at 12 noon between WCSU and fifth-seeded Keene State College.

Tuesday’s game was a pitching duel between Jeffs and ECSU freshman Lindsay Savelle (Cheshire, Conn.).Through five innings, PSC managed only one hit off Savelle while Eastern could muster just two hits off Jeffs.

The Panthers plated the winning runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Senior Steph Marsland (Cumberland, R.I.) and junior Maria Curran (Scarborough, Maine) singled off Savelle to put two runners on with one out. Eastern got Curran out on a force play at second, but PSC’s first run came home on a Warrior throwing error. Junior Michelle Knox (Gilmanton, N.H.) followed with an RBI single to give the Panthers a two-run cushion.

ECSU got a runner into scoring position in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but Jeffs closed the door each time. She finished with six strikeouts en route to her 10th shutout of the season, improving her record to 21-4 and lowering her ERA to 0.74. Jeffs leads the nation in Division III with 272 strikeouts.

The 24 wins for PSC this season ties the school record set last spring, when the Panthers finished 24-13-2. Eastern Connecticut concludes its season at 17-17.

Plymouth State College clinched home-field advantage in the first round of the Little East Conference Softball Tournament Monday by sweeping a doubleheader in the regular season finale Monday, April 28, at the University of Massachusetts Boston, 6-2 and 3-1,

With the sweep, PSC finishes in a tie for third with Southern Maine in the LEC with a 9-5 conference mark, 23-6 overall. UMB, 1-12-1 in conference play and 8-18-1 overall, is the seventh seed and will travel to Providence Tuesday to face second-seeded Rhode Island College.

The Panthers took a 3-0 lead in the third inning of the opener, with the big hit being a two-run home run by senior Adriene Harvey (Nantucket, Mass.). It was Harvey’s record-tying seventh of the season, and it extended her PSC career home run record to 19. PSC added an unearned run in the fourth inning, and made it a 6-0 game with two more runs in the fifth.

Sophomore Kim Jeffs (Stoughton, Mass.) pitched the first five innings to record the win, allowing only one hit and striking out 11. Freshman Rose Eaton (Concord, N.H.) came on to work the final two innings.

PSC managed only three hits in the nightcap, but took advantage of three Beacon errors and a couple of wild pitches to score three runs. Sophomore Annie Metz (North Chelmsford, Mass.) ignited a two-run rally in the second inning with a leadoff double.

Jeffs went the distance in second game, giving up a run on two hits while fanning 11. She has reached double figures in strikeouts in 18 of her 26 appearances.

Sophomore Kim Jeffs (Stoughton, Mass.) tossed a pair of shutouts Sunday, April 27, leading the Plymouth State College softball team to a sweep of a Little East Conference doubleheader against Western Connecticut State University at D&M Park, 4-0 and 1-0.

Jeffs allowed just four singles in blanking the Colonials in the opener, while striking out 11. WCSU collected three hits with one out in the sixth inning, but Jeffs struck out the next two batters to end the threat. After the game Jeffs commented on the play of the team during the sixth inning, “I knew that I had to stay calm and focused, the team was behind me, we just needed to make sure we got out of it.”

PSC scored its first run in the first inning on an RBI single by senior Adriene Harvey. The Panther added two more in the second when junior Kristen Balles and senior Steph Marsland singled with one out, and advanced a base on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Jess Rousselle. Junior Maria Curran followed with an RBI single to score Balles, and Marsland came home on a double steal.

PSC added an insurance run in the fourth on a WCSU infield error.

In the nightcap, Jeffs fanned 10 more Colonials and gave up only three hits to improve her record to 18-4 and increase her season shutout total to nine.

The Panthers scored the game-winning run in the top of the seventh inning when Marsland doubled with one out and came home on an RBI single by freshman pinch hitter Ali Otway. After the second win, Head Coach Harry Blood commented on the great play of the team. “We played exceptionally well today. In Friday’s practice we stressed execution, and we did that today without missing any bunts and timely hitting.”

The Colonials got the tying run to second base in the bottom of the seventh, but Jeffs fanned the final two batters to preserve the win.